The Ruling on Acts of Worship for Those Below the Age of Accountability

Question:
The following message is from one of the female listeners. At the end of it, she said: Your sister in Allah (S. M. S.) from Jordan. We presented part of her questions in a previous episode, and in this episode, she has some remaining questions. In one of them, she asks: Is prayer, fasting, and other acts of worship obligatory for children who have not reached puberty, or not? And are they punished for leaving off prayer, for example? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
A condition for obligation is accountability, which is reaching puberty for both men and women. Puberty is reached by completing fifteen years of age for males and females, or by the growth of coarse hair around the private parts—the hair—or by the emission of semen through wet dreams, or through looking, or through other causes of semen emission. If semen is emitted for any reason due to desire, the man becomes accountable, and the girl becomes accountable. These are three matters by which puberty is reached for men and women.
The first: Completing fifteen lunar years.
The second: The growth of the hair around the private parts, meaning the hair around the private parts, which is called the hair, or the pubic hair, for men and women.
The third: The emission of semen due to desire, through wet dreams or otherwise.
And there is a fourth for the woman: which is menstruation. If she menstruates, even if she is nine or ten years old, she becomes an accountable woman. Prayer, fasting, fasting in Ramadan, and Hajj with the ability to perform it become obligatory upon her, and likewise for the man.
So the point is: With these three matters for men and women, the five prayers, fasting in Ramadan, and Hajj to the House with the ability to perform it become obligatory upon them. And for the woman, if she menstruates, likewise, the five prayers, fasting in Ramadan, and Hajj with the ability to perform it become obligatory upon her.
As for before puberty, nothing is obligatory upon them, but it is prescribed for them. When a child reaches seven, he is ordered to pray, and he is ordered to fast if he can bear it. His guardian orders him to pray and fast, and likewise a ten-year-old boy and older until he reaches puberty, until he becomes accustomed to good, until he becomes accustomed to prayer, until he becomes accustomed to fasting. His guardian orders him, and her guardian orders her to do this. And when the man reaches ten and the woman reaches ten, the guardian has the right to strike them if they neglect it, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And "children" includes both males and females.
So when the male reaches ten and the female reaches ten, the man is ordered to strike them and discipline them if they neglect prayer, and likewise fasting, fasting in Ramadan, until they practice it and become accustomed to doing this obligatory act. So when they reach puberty, they have already become accustomed to it, and it has become part of their nature and character.
And likewise, their guardian warns them against sins, against backbiting and talebearing, against cursing and insulting, and other sins that Allah and His Messenger have forbidden. The guardian forbids them from these before puberty and after it. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.